Less than four weeks out from the launch of the Green Line (Central Corridor), on the heels of opening the so-called “Target Central” station, where will ultimately converge all of the rail systems serving Minnesota and the region hereabouts and become the region’s transit hub and even an entertainment venue (presumably to keep .

A whole hell of a lot of angst emerged from the disruptions for small business outlets along University Ave, especially, in St. Paul, most of them owned and operated by entrepreneurs of color.

Equity issues could be found in most aspects of the design and construction of the Green Line well beyond the impacts on business. For many residents living along this corridor, memories of the historic inequity visited on the central city of St. Paul dating back to first major divisive swath of freeway – I-94 – cutting through all many of the properties and the folks living around there remember Rondo. For the older folks displaced or friends and family of those going through the prime example of trampling on residents and businesses back now loomed large as they envisioned the Central Corridor wiping out another predominantly community of color in the same general vicinity.

Now, new lines are planned to cut through sensitive neighborhoods, but not necessarily ready to serve the equity needs for the new parts of North Minneapolis and the entire Southwest Corridor stretching to Eden Prairie. Some of the issues rearing their heads again, many new ones have highlighted the uniqueness of each project – how does the Northwest-bound Bottineau Light Rail Transitway (Blue Line extension) actually serve the nerve center of the North Side’s African-American community. The natural corridor, Broadway Ave, weaves through already distressed neighborhoods, too narrow without the capacity to carry a standard light rail system. Smaller-gauge rails – like those of streetcars – would fit. Is that a solution to fair and equitable access to transit for Northsiders. Riders there could connect to the Bottineau via streetcar. But what other issues confront these folks?

Then, not far from the Bottineau, the Southwest Light Rail system (Green Line)planned through the near-North Harrison neighborhood before swinging Southwest through five cities – Minneapolis, St. Louis Park, Hopkins, Minnetonka and Eden Prairie. The battle lines here have been complicated by the role older freight rails and the alignment through the Cedar Lake complex of lakes, bike and hiking trails.

Southwest has been covered well as the Metropolitan Council, the Minneapolis City Council and the City of St. Louis Park where well-heeled West Minneapolitans and St. Louis Parkers are demanding their amenities of one sort or another be preserved as they see it. Some of the issues have been partially resolved, but where does the equity play out in this scenario selecting the routes for those segments of the SWLRT.

This time out, we’ll explore the equity issues for the two lines on the west of the city and its suburban sisters and North Side under serious debate and organizing around them along their respective corridors.

TTT’s ANDY DRISCOLL and SIOBHAN KIERANS talk with the active organizers directing their efforts to ensure equity and neighborhood concerns are addressed.

Local Somali and East African communities are fighting poverty, educating kids and promoting peace and development in the Horn of Africa as well as in their “new” US communities.

Ask your neighbor about the Somali Diaspora in Minnesota, and she is likely to tell you about the pirates in the academy awarded nominated film, Captain Phillips, young El Shabab recruits, and growing Somali power in local politics. Less understood is the major contribution Somalis and other East Africans make to their countries of origin. From the individual financial contributions that serve as a life line for relatives back home, to disaster relief and hunger alleviation, to an increasingly sophisticated range of education and development efforts, Minnesota’s East African community is making a difference.

TTT’s ANDY DRISCOLL and Guest Host, TOM O’CONNELL will be joined by three guests who are deeply familiar with these efforts.

GUESTS:

ABDURASHID ALI – Director of Somali Family Services, a Twin Cities based nonprofit with extensive programs in Puntland, Somalia. Beginning with the construction of Puntland’s first library and resource center, SFS has organized a series of impressive initiatives aimed at building a peaceful, democratic, and just Somalia.

JAYLANI HUSSEIN – Board Secretary, American Relief Agency For the Horn of Africa (ARAHA); Lead Consultant, Zeila Consultants; Planner, MN Department of Agriculture. Mr. Hussein has traveled the Horn of Africa on number of times on behalf of ARAHA – to open a regional field office as well as to oversee large‐scale humanitarian projects in the Somali Famine of 2011. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Community Development/City Planning and is currently pursuing a law degree.

AWO AHMED – Literacy Program Coordinator, Metropolitan State University. Awo plans to do graduate work in global health and use her knowledge to work with her father, who directs a health clinic in Lasbas, Somalia.

Local Somali and East African communities are fighting poverty, educating kids and promoting peace and development in the Horn of Africa as well as in their “new” US communities.

Ask your neighbor about the Somali Diaspora in Minnesota, and she is likely to tell you about the pirates in the academy awarded nominated film, Captain Phillips, young El Shabab recruits, and growing Somali power in local politics. Less understood is the major contribution Somalis and other East Africans make to their countries of origin. From the individual financial contributions that serve as a life line for relatives back home, to disaster relief and hunger alleviation, to an increasingly sophisticated range of education and development efforts, Minnesota’s East African community is making a difference.

TTT’s ANDY DRISCOLL and Guest Host, TOM O’CONNELL will be joined by three guests who are deeply familiar with these efforts.

GUESTS:

ABDURASHID ALI – Director of Somali Family Services, a Twin Cities based nonprofit with extensive programs in Puntland, Somalia. Beginning with the construction of Puntland’s first library and resource center, SFS has organized a series of impressive initiatives aimed at building a peaceful, democratic, and just Somalia.

JAYLANI HUSSEIN – Board Secretary, American Relief Agency For the Horn of Africa (ARAHA); Lead Consultant, Zeila Consultants; Planner, MN Department of Agriculture. Mr. Hussein has traveled the Horn of Africa on number of times on behalf of ARAHA – to open a regional field office as well as to oversee large‐scale humanitarian projects in the Somali Famine of 2011. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Community Development/City Planning and is currently pursuing a law degree.

AWO AHMED – Literacy Program Coordinator, Metropolitan State University. Awo plans to do graduate work in global health and use her knowledge to work with her father, who directs a health clinic in Lasbas, Somalia.

Local Somali and East African communities are fighting poverty, educating kids and promoting peace and development in the Horn of Africa as well as in their “new” US communities.

Ask your neighbor about the Somali Diaspora in Minnesota, and she is likely to tell you about the pirates in the academy awarded nominated film, Captain Phillips, young El Shabab recruits, and growing Somali power in local politics. Less understood is the major contribution Somalis and other East Africans make to their countries of origin. From the individual financial contributions that serve as a life line for relatives back home, to disaster relief and hunger alleviation, to an increasingly sophisticated range of education and development efforts, Minnesota’s East African community is making a difference.

TTT’s ANDY DRISCOLL and Guest Host, TOM O’CONNELL will be joined by three guests who are deeply familiar with these efforts.

GUESTS:

ABDURASHID ALI – Director of Somali Family Services, a Twin Cities based nonprofit with extensive programs in Puntland, Somalia. Beginning with the construction of Puntland’s first library and resource center, SFS has organized a series of impressive initiatives aimed at building a peaceful, democratic, and just Somalia.

JAYLANI HUSSEIN – Board Secretary, American Relief Agency For the Horn of Africa (ARAHA); Lead Consultant, Zeila Consultants; Planner, MN Department of Agriculture. Mr. Hussein has traveled the Horn of Africa on number of times on behalf of ARAHA – to open a regional field office as well as to oversee large‐scale humanitarian projects in the Somali Famine of 2011. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Community Development/City Planning and is currently pursuing a law degree.

AWO AHMED – Literacy Program Coordinator, Metropolitan State University. Awo plans to do graduate work in global health and use her knowledge to work with her father, who directs a health clinic in Lasbas, Somalia.

This week we welcome to TTT a new cohost and associate producer: Siobhan Kierans, a solid broadcast producer and co-host of her own show, Malarkey, on KFAI. We're proud and happy to have such a fine talent join the crew.

How long have many advocates in this nation, and, indeed, Minnesota to a large extent, touted the absolute necessity for switching from fossil fuels-powered energy to renewables – a broad term that may be too broadly defined for some, especially if means burning anything (as in garbage and other so-called “biofuels”)?

Not so much in dispute are two renewable resources: the sun and the wind. The only notions in dispute may well be the size of the generating arrays. That debate continues around such items as wind farms and large solar arrays as proposed by such powerhouse suppliers as Xcel Energy.

It’s become clear to many advocates that smaller, community-based arrays – what are being called community solar gardens – that end users may well find that energy can be both less expensive and an investment. Oh, yes, Xcel’s large solar arrays are also considered gardens, but they look like small farms rather than the neighborhood-sized rooftop panels owned by those who subscribe to them – the investment part – then collect reimbursements for the electricity generated at a per-watt rate.

The current conflicts center around the number of solar arrays that Xcel should be allowed to construct and the rates they pay to the smaller, independent community solar garden operations. The state’s regulator, the Public Utilities Commission (PUC), has so far signaled a desire to limit Xcel’s ability to build huge solar arrays while also suggesting that the rate Xcel has offered to pay back to solar garden subscribers (what that means we’ll talk about Monday morning) for the power they add to the larger grid is simply too low

This area’s first community solar garden has just announced a sold-out subscription base and the array will operate in South Minneapolis.

TTT’s ANDY DRISCOLL and SIOBHAN KIERANS talk with the entrepreneur developer of this garden along with a resource and ethical watchdog for the solar industry to enlighten us all about the meaning of these developments and what it means for energy policy and futures in Minnesota.

Local Somali and East African communities are fighting poverty, educating kids and promoting peace and development in the Horn of Africa as well as in their “new” US communities.

Ask your neighbor about the Somali Diaspora in Minnesota, and she is likely to tell you about the pirates in the academy awarded nominated film, Captain Phillips, young El Shabab recruits, and growing Somali power in local politics. Less understood is the major contribution Somalis and other East Africans make to their countries of origin. From the individual financial contributions that serve as a life line for relatives back home, to disaster relief and hunger alleviation, to an increasingly sophisticated range of education and development efforts, Minnesota’s East African community is making a difference.

TTT’s ANDY DRISCOLL and Guest Host, TOM O’CONNELL will be joined by three guests who are deeply familiar with these efforts.

GUESTS:

ABDURASHID ALI – Director of Somali Family Services, a Twin Cities based nonprofit with extensive programs in Puntland, Somalia. Beginning with the construction of Puntland’s first library and resource center, SFS has organized a series of impressive initiatives aimed at building a peaceful, democratic, and just Somalia.

JAYLANI HUSSEIN – Board Secretary, American Relief Agency For the Horn of Africa (ARAHA); Lead Consultant, Zeila Consultants; Planner, MN Department of Agriculture. Mr. Hussein has traveled the Horn of Africa on number of times on behalf of ARAHA – to open a regional field office as well as to oversee large‐scale humanitarian projects in the Somali Famine of 2011. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Community Development/City Planning and is currently pursuing a law degree.

AWO AHMED – Literacy Program Coordinator, Metropolitan State University. Awo plans to do graduate work in global health and use her knowledge to work with her father, who directs a health clinic in Lasbas, Somalia.